Zinjo

Would love to get a higher res version of that, solely for the cheese factor...

I believe you are reading too much into things. - The VF-25 is the next generation variable fighter, set to replace the VF-171 after it's finished it's trials. - If we skipped the events of Mac 7, then I might agree with your assessment of the UNSpacy military, however, there is little indication of it otherwise. - There is a possiblity that the disappearance of the Megaroad 01 mission may come into play with this series, but it is far too early to tell. - Sheryl was on a tour afaik and just happend to arrive at the Frontier fleet when they encountered the Varja. - Indications appear to support the idea that the fleet stumbled or neared something the Varja were protecting. There are indications that the President and the SMS were expecting some sort of encounter. If they were indeed tracing the course of the Megaroad 01, then that could be an explanation, but we don't know yet. - The only thing secret about the Valkyrie was its transformation capabilities. - The presence of the SMS on this particular fleet lends one to wonder if the fleet is actually on the same course as the Megaroad. If so then the UNG may have expected some sort of hostile encounter and thus made sure it had its best equipment on board, manned by the best pilots available. We'll see in a few weeks how this plays out...

What is this "Logan" you speak of? Which Macross series was it in?

Well that's encouraging!

Well considering Kawamori has promised that this Frontier series will be the best one yet, and SDFM is the undisputed masterpiece of the Macross universe, Frontier has a pretty high standard to surpass. Thus, if successful, will become a masterpiece unto itself. The show has the potential to become a masterpiece or a commercial success. We won't know until episode 36 which it will ultimately become. SDFM was a critical and commercial success, while M7 was mainly a commercial success.

VF-25 Flechette Nasty weapon...

I'd love to see Kawamori's vision of Mac 7, with him as Supervising Director. I suspect the tone would be somewhat darker than the cotton candy it originally was. When one considers the subject matter and principle villans it could have easily been a darker show.

Keep in mind one ran from Ozuma in his Armored VF-25 w/ energy weapons, so the VF-25 is effective somewhat against the Red Barons, but not so much with Fast Packs alone.

Then you actually "Transliterated" it. Essentially took the raw translation and corrected the syntax and terms to make it better understood by English audiences.

It could ultimately become a "happy coincidence" that they have the Konig. The SMS is charged with flight testing new equipment and if VF-X2 is taken into consideration with the Frontier story, then the prototype was initially deployed 9 years earlier. The one in their hangar could be in final testing or just additional equipment assigned to them. Unless it's an upgraded VB-6 similar to how the VF-11C was the upgrade to the VF-11B. As Az has said, it's just too early to tell.

Hence why I laugh at those who dane to take that show seriously... Thanks for the info, forgot about that tidbit...

As far as I know, the chamber(s) always existed for the Zentreadi, it wasn't used before or at least not for a very long time. Well if Klien Klan was a natural born from Zentreadi parents, that could be an explanation why she keeps micronizing into a child. The chamber was may not be designed or calibrated for such a genetic structure.

I was under the impression Basara brought the VF-19P and that Zola was only equipped with VF-5000s...

It's most likely, as a mirconized Zentreadi she'd fly a VF-14 or a VA-14, as opposed to a Q-Rau. Whether the rest of her team gets micronized is yet to be seen.

I think the principle difference between the VF-171 pilots and the SMS is the SMS actually 'have' fought alien threats whereas the green troops have only trained in simulators and in 'safe' excercises. Which would be why they were quickly intimidated and overwhelmed by the Varja.

I wouldn't go so far as to say private military companies have taken over, but they do have a certain amount of clout. They test the latest military equipment in combat situations (if necessary), thus would be given preferential treatment by the military if conventional gear isn't effective. The fact that they are manned by experienced, highly trained staff also gives them an edge over the green NUNS troops. The apparent lack of experience by the VF-171 "alert" pilots and reorganized Spacy tends to lean me toward the idea that some sort of large conflict in the 2050's has depleted the vetran & equipment base of SPACY. However, why things are the way they are, has yet to be revealed.

Can't argue with that, you're probably right.... However without Club M, it's hard to say who.

Raiden and Toryu are good choices as well...

The assumptions you mention are yours not mine. The AAB's pre-date Mac Plus' Ghost X9 and it wouldn't surprise me if those bits were indeed inspired by the Fin Funnels from Char's Counterattack. Though with so little translated about Mac II, we don't know what inspired the producers to create them at this point. I specifically worded my comments to avoid the idea that SK took the idea of the Ghost from Mac II. We are all well aware that there are plenty of sources he could have taken his inspiration from. The only way to do that is to change the back story of Mac II and then change the dialogue to mach it. Things like mecha development would need to be changed as well as the designation of the Valkyrie II series of fighters (with the VF-4 being the successor to the VF-1, no VF-2 would have been deployed). The divergence in development design of the fighters is another issue that would need to be addressed. Of course the SDF in the show could not be the Macross and the world they live on could not be Earth. There isn't any, outside of coincidence and that the AAB's predate the Ghost by a year. SK had been peddling his top gun story for a few years prior to Mac Plus and it most likely predated Mac II as well. Whether it included an Ai controlled fighter initially, we don't know. Granted my comments on SK's possibility of actually seeing Mac II may have confused some into believing some sort of unification argument was being initiated.

Always felt that the Zero should have had the nick-name of "Loki" like the trickster, it transformed... but that's just me...

Who is to say the events of VF-X2 didn't spark a civil war? Considering if there were a civil war among the colonies, that would eat up a "LOT" of hardware in a very short space of time. Now in the wake of such a war, whether the colonies all did or did not ally themselves with the Earth again, a reformation of some sort would result. Likely starting with Spacy. Now when humanity has to continue it's efforts to colonize the galaxy as well as rebuild it's space navy, with a likely shortage of manpower, it isn't all that difficult to conclude that upgrading of existing designs would be faster and cheaper than to create a series of new fighters. It is a possibility that if such an event occured that the VF-25 could be the first "new" fighter design developed since the conflict. This is all speculation, but it lends itself to canonizing the VF-X2 story as well as the presence of Koenig Monster in the new show and the reformed NUNS. The development pace of variable fighters may well have been stunted due to an internal conflict, such as a civil war or large insurrection that tied up resources for a time.

Mac II is an alternate universe to the Nue continuity, hence the use of railguns over the directed energy weaponry. It also takes place some 30 years after Mac Plus, so the idea of a PBB on a fighter would not necessarily be exclusive to the Nue continuity. The idea of automated attack bits came out in Mac II, whereas Mac Plus took that type of idea one step further with a fully AI controlled fighter in the Ghost X9. Which then brings up the spectre of, has Kawamori seen Mac II, despite his public denials. Only he knows that for sure and he hasn't changed his public story yet. I tend to suspect he has, what creator wouldn't see how a different production team interprets their original ideas? However to avoid any comparisons between his work and that one, he says he's never seen it. Which can be considered prudent.

I suspect the VF-25 doesn't have a name yet and that the SMS will christen it with a name by the end of the series. So there is time for them to come up with a name for the cast to record before the show is finished in September. Not necessarily. The school's acrobatic team that flew at Sheryl's concert had 4 people in it. Micheal (blue). Alto (red), Luca (green) and another unamed flyer who had purple trim on his suit. You see them at the beginning of ep 1.

The Valkyrie is synonymous with the Macross universe both in and out. The fighter was so iconic to humanity in the show that all variable fighters are referred to as "Valkyries". I am liking the "Fenris" as well as the "Scimitar". If we are going with legendary weaponry what about the "Mjolnir" the thunder hammer of Thor? The "Katana" is pretty cool too, so it the "Clarent" (King Arthur's sword of peace), "Kusanagi" a legendary Japanese sword. The VF-2JA is called the "Icarus".

Oooo, that might be worth getting....